COVID-19: How Boehringer Ingelheim has responded to the pandemic
Everyone remembers the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, which were shaped by the rapid spread of a novel disease across the globe. As part of the pharmaceutical industry, Boehringer Ingelheim joined the collective efforts in fighting COVID-19. Although the company does not produce human vaccines, it has supported a variety of different initiatives to combat the pandemic. Here are some examples.
The Global Support Program
Launched by Boehringer Ingelheim in spring 2020, the Global Support Program became a truly global relief effort in challenging times. The measures undertaken by this program ranged from donations (including protective materials and medicines), financial relief, research efforts, to an additional relief fund for our Making More Health network in Kenya and India. Volunteering was another aspect: All employees were given the opportunity to take up to 10 days of paid leave to join approved external organizations as a volunteer. In doing so, employees were able to lend their support to local communities worldwide.
The CARE Consortium
Since February 2020, Boehringer Ingelheim is a member of the CARE (Corona Accelerated R&D in Europe) consortium and provided antiviral molecules from its legacy HIV and HCV portfolio and small molecule candidates for a complete screen of its molecule library. Launched to accelerate therapy development for COVID-19 and future coronavirus threats, CARE is a five-year project bringing together 37 partners from academia and industry.
The COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator
Together with life science companies around the world, Boehringer Ingelheim joined the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to fight the pandemic. The collaboration has accelerated the development, manufacture, and delivery of vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments for COVID-19. Boehringer Ingelheim contributed its historic molecules to the research activities. To identify candidate compounds, the Accelerator follows three approaches: testing approved drugs for activity against COVID-19, screening compounds with confirmed safety data, and considering new investigational compounds and monoclonal antibodies.